WBB

This is my first fic and I really like Veronica Burton and Kate Martin ship

December 2024

Veronica still remembers the morning her life changed.

The sun wasn’t even up yet, the sky barely beginning to lighten over Australia. She was dead asleep, warm under her blankets, when her phone started buzzing aggressively on her nightstand. She groaned, eyes still half-shut as she reached an arm out blindly.

“Hello?” she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

“Finally,” a voice on the other end said. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. I just wanted to let you know you’ve been picked up by the new expansion team.”

Every trace of sleep evaporated instantly.

“WHAT?” Veronica practically shouted, already sitting straight up. Her heart hammered. She was suddenly pacing circles in the dark of her bedroom, eyes blown wide, a ridiculous grin spreading across her face. “Seriously? You’re not joking?”

“No joke. Once your season is over in Australia, they want you in San Francisco immediately.”

Veronica could barely breathe. She hung up and stared at the dim sky outside her window, feeling like she might explode. Hours later, her phone lit up again but this time with the official announcement posted under the brand-new Golden State Valkyries Instagram page.

Her name. Her photo. Her next chapter.

It didn’t feel real.

But it was.

March 2025

San Francisco.

Veronica had finally arrived.

Her new apartment provided by the organization was modern, clean, and surprisingly cozy. A soft one-bedroom with warm light and a sweeping view of the city that still didn’t feel quite hers yet. She’d spent what felt like hours unpacking, folding clothes, rearranging shoes that didn’t want to stay lined up. Finally, exhausted and restless, she needed out.

Maybe she’d check out the training facility. Put shots up. Feel something familiar.

Wearing sweats, a long sleeve, and simple Air Forces, she grabbed her key card and headed out. Her car hadn’t arrived from home yet, so it was a twenty-minute walk but she didn’t mind. The city smelled different. New. Cold. Full of possibility.

Entering the Valkyries facility felt surreal the big glass doors, the fresh paint smell, the quiet buzz of a place not quite broken in yet. She scanned her key card, the door clicked, and a staff member at the front desk greeted her warmly.

“Welcome in!”

Veronica smiled back, offering a polite nod as she walked deeper inside… and then she heard it.

Basketballs bouncing.

Echoing up the hallway.

She blinked. She honestly thought she’d be one of the only players here—most of the roster wasn’t supposed to arrive for another few days. But the rhythmic thump of a dribble drew her curiosity, so she pushed open the gym doors slowly.

And froze.

A blonde girl stood at the far free-throw line, her back facing Veronica. Her hair was in a ponytail braid, and every movement was smooth, methodical—the form of someone who had been in a gym her whole life.

Veronica only watched for a second.

But she didn’t need longer to recognize her.

Kate Martin.

Kate's POV

I’d only been in San Francisco for a few days, but the quiet in my new apartment was already driving me restless. So that morning, I headed to the Valkyries facility. No cameras. No coaches. No expectations. Just me and a basketball exactly what I needed.

The gym was huge, the kind of brand-new that still smelled faintly of fresh varnish. I started with simple form shots, letting the ball roll off my fingers, letting the silence around me settle into something steady.

Then I heard footsteps.

Soft at first, echoing off the polished floor, growing closer.

I turned, expecting maybe a staff member… and froze for half a second.

Veronica Burton.

Of course I recognized her. We’d crossed paths in college a few matchups, a few scouting reports, a few too many clips of her locking somebody up defensively. She’d gotten drafted before me, had experience overseas, and there was always this calm confidence about her that made you pay attention.

But seeing her here, in person, in our brand-new practice facility… it hit different.

“Yo, what up, Kate?” Veronica said, grinning as she approached. She extended her arms like she was greeting an old friend.

Something in my chest tugged. Warm. Familiar.

I let out a small laugh and walked toward her. “I know who you are, Veronica,” I said, taking her hand in a firm shake though she added a sly smile to it that momentarily threw me off balance.

Her hand was warm. Her grip sure. And her eyes? Way more expressive up close than I remembered from game film.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

It wasn’t awkward. Just… charged. Two players, new teammates, recognizing the start of something bigger: a new team, a new season, a new chapter.

I cleared my throat lightly and nodded toward the hoop.

“You wanna get some shots up?”

Her smile widened, slow and easy, like she already knew the answer.

“Yeah,” she said. “Why not? The first day in San Francisco might as well break in the court together.”

She stepped beside me, close enough that I could smell the faint vanilla of her body wash, and suddenly this giant empty gym didn’t feel so empty anymore.